More talk before redevelopment; second look for new buildings?

By Neil Schulman
Sea Bright — The Borough Council has delayed accepting a report on whether three properties, including the former Sea Bright School, qualify as an area in need of redevelopment.
A resolution on the agenda at the Sept. 6 Borough Council meeting will be held. The issue will be discussed more extensively at the Sept. 15 Borough Council workshop.
“It’s my understanding there’s still a lot of questions on this,” said Councilman Marc Leckstein.

The councilman, who supports the concept, believes that there are a lot of misunderstandings about what this would entail.

According to the resolution, in June, the Cofone Consulting Group prepared a report on the three unused downtown properties, and whether they qualify, under state law, as “areas in need of redevelopment with the power of eminent domain” under state law.

The use of eminent domain, the ability of the government to take private property, has been controversial in New Jersey for the last decade or so.
“Sea Bright has never gone down this road before,” said Mayor Dina Long, though she said something similar had been investigated, and proved unpopular.
“The community almost blew itself up 15 years ago,” she said.

But Leckstein said that involved potential residential projects. This involves only commercial districts. And one of the buildings, the former schoolhouse, has sat unused for decades.
“I am sick and tired of looking at that building,” he said.

Alternative architecture
On Sept. 27, Sea Bright residents will vote in a referendum on whether to approve $12.9 million in bonds to build two structures to replace structures ruined by Superstorm Sandy, including the beach pavilion, firehouse, police department, and library.

While FEMA and insurance would pay much of the costs, taxpayers would be on the hook for more than $5 million. Residents who think that’s too much held the process for this referendum.

And Mayor Long said that even if it’s approved, she wants to address their concerns, re-examining their plans to see if any savings can be made.

“Should there be an affirmative vote… the borough will immediately engage a review architect,” she said. That architect will look for cost savings. (By law, the borough can’t spend money on the project until after the referendum.)

While council unanimously agreed to hire the architect – if the referendum passes – Councilman Charles Rooney thought that it would make more sense to go out to bid first.
He said that the $12.9 million figure includes contingencies and options, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the final project comes in significantly lower in costs. “We need to see what the real numbers are,” he said. “You’re going to compromise the building before you know what it really costs.”If the referendum is defeated, then council will need to figure out what to do. Officials say they suspect either way, the October council workshop will be dedicated to that.

More news about Sea Bright in this week’s edition of The LINK News.